Nora is doing college-level work, her mother says, but many of her friends are taking enough advanced classes to boost their grade-point averages above 4.0. “It breaks my heart to see her upset when she’s doing so awesome and going above and beyond.”

Teens Talk Stress

When NPR asked on Facebook if stress is an issue for teenagers, they spoke loud and clear:

“Academic stress has been a part of my life ever since I can remember,” wrote Bretta McCall, 16, of Seattle. “This year I spend about 12 hours a day on schoolwork. I’m home right now because I was feeling so sick from stress I couldn’t be at school. So as you can tell, it’s a big part of my life!”

“At the time of writing this, my weekend assignments include two papers, a PowerPoint to go with a 10-minute presentation, studying for a test and two quizzes, and an entire chapter (approximately 40 pages) of notes in a college textbook,” wrote Connor West of New Jersey.

“It’s a problem that’s basically brushed off by most people,” wrote Kelly Farrell in Delaware. “There’s this mentality of, ‘You’re doing well, so why are you complaining?’ ” She says she started experiencing symptoms of stress in middle school, and was diagnosed with panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder in high school.

“Parents are the worst about all of this,” writes Colin Hughes of Illinois. “All I hear is, ‘Work harder, you’re a smart kid, I know you have it in you, and if you want to go to college you need to work harder.’ It’s a pain.”

And the pressure is taking a physical toll, too. At age 16, Nora is tired, is increasingly irritated with her siblings and often suffers headaches, her mother says.Parents are right to be worried about stress and their children’s health, says Mary Alvord, a clinical psychologist in Maryland and public education coordinator for the American Psychological Association.”A little stress is a good thing,” Alvord says. “It can motivate students to be organized. But too much stress can backfire.”

Almost 40 percent of parents say their high-schooler is experiencing a lot of stress from school, according to a new NPR poll conducted with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. In most cases, that stress is from academics, not social issues or bullying, the poll found.

Homework was a leading cause of stress, with 24 percent of parents saying it’s an issue.

Teenagers say they’re suffering, too. A survey by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens — 45 percent — said they were stressed by school pressures.

Chronic stress can cause a sense of panic and paralysis, Alvord says. The child feels stuck, which only adds to the feeling of stress.

Parents can help put the child’s distress in perspective, particularly when they get into what Alvord calls catastrophic “what if” thinking: “What if I get a bad grade, then what if that means I fail the course, then I’ll never get into college.”

Then move beyond talking and do something about it.

That’s what 16-year-old Colleen Frainey of Tualatin, Ore., did. As a sophomore last year, she was taking all advanced courses. The pressure was making her sick. “I didn’t feel good, and when I didn’t feel good I felt like I couldn’t do my work, which would stress me out more,” she says.

Mom Abigail Frainey says, “It was more than we could handle as a family.”

With encouragement from her parents, Colleen dropped one of her advanced courses. The family’s decision generated disbelief from other parents. “Why would I let her take the easy way out?” Abigail Frainey heard.

But she says dialing down on academics was absolutely the right decision for her child. Colleen no longer suffers headaches or stomachaches. She’s still in honors courses, but the workload this year is manageable.

Even better, Colleen now has time to do things she never would have considered last year, like going out to dinner with the family on a weeknight, or going to the barn to ride her horse, Bishop.

Psychologist Alvord says a balanced life should be the goal for all families. If a child is having trouble getting things done, parents can help plan the week, deciding what’s important and what’s optional. “Just basic time management— that will help reduce the stress.”

I was the pushy parent but after seeing my 8 year old son suffer with emotional stress because of homework, after training as a secondary school teacher, after researching the issue; I’m completely converted to the idea that children should not have homework until they are 14 and doing exams. I know this doesn’t support the article. I don’t know the answer for those doing exams but I sympathise with the students and I believe they are stressed. Maybe schools should teach students how to work smarter not harder? Maybe parents need to be re-educated that more work doesn’t always equate to better results?

I’m a high school teacher. My school suggests that students take no more than 2 AP classes per year. Parents and their children tend to ignore this guideline and sign up for 4. Then they complain about the stress. I aso see how many students work these days, checking their phones constantly. It’s much more stressful to attempt to multi-task that way.

But the greatest pressure comes from the fear of not getting into college. Your student may not get into a top brand-name school — so what? A well-rounded childhood and a good college experience at any school will help them turn into successful people, even in a recession. Constant stress and competition and lack of sleep: not a good way for children to develop.

sam

At scool I am really stressed . I worry alot about my grades, maybe more than I should, and I am usually staying up kind of late doing hw and projects.I get a lot of work , 1-3 projects a week, hw every single night for every class, books to read, big exams, not to mention so many other things to worry about,my own life outside of school which mainly consist of family.But stress is killing me, like literally somedays in can reach my limit and then totally fall apart, I will get headaches , cry ,and get angry at myself for not being able to work something out or doing something wrong, I feel completely overwhelmed, and yet all the advice I get is it’s ok you are smart or don’t worry it happens to everyone. But I am pretty sure they have no idea what kind of crappy advice that’s for relieving stress.

http://fanimeasia.wordpress.com Lychee

While many teachers and counselors will advise students to take fewer AP classes, students most likely will not follow that advice. With their peers and siblings taking three or more AP classes at a time, students will feel that they are falling behind and they will feel pressured to take even more AP classes. Also, in families with multiple children, younger siblings will feel pressured to be like their older siblings. Especially when older siblings enter an Ivy League college, the younger children will feel the pressure to achieve the same result from both parents and teachers. With these expectations, pressures, and piles of work being loaded onto students, it is no wonder that high school teens experience crippling stress. The best way to combat this problem is to have parents or counselors listen to their kids when they “complain” about school or work. Instead of berating them and accusing them of whining, parents and counselors should listen to what their kids are saying and give them advice on how to deal with school-induced stress. This way, kids won’t have to bottle up all their emotions, and they can learn valuable information that might come in handy in the workplace.